Parchment paper is a heavy duty paper that’s used in the kitchen- it comes in a roll the same way aluminum foil does. It’s water and grease resistant. Parchment paper doesn’t allow moisture to stick to it- which means your baked goods will slide right out of the pan the same way it would had you greased or oiled the pan!

Even better? There’s no clean up with parchment paper. The pan doesn’t get messy or greasy. i also like parchment paper because you can remove your baked goods from the hot pan almost immediately and allow it to cool down without getting any of the residual heat from the pan.

Silicone bakeware might seem odd at first- most people are so used to metal pans. They bake evenly and allow your baked goods to cool down right in the pan. All you have to do to get your baked goods out of the pan is twist- your muffin/cake/loaf will easily slide right out of the pan.

Just be sure not to over fill your silicone bake ware because it’s not as ‘sturdy’ at a metal pan is when you’re transferring it into the oven. If you’re wary of using a silicone pan in the oven- just place it on top of a cookie sheet before you put it into the oven. There’s also ‘Sil pat’ which is a silicone sheet that goes right on top of cookie sheets and is non-stick. It’s like a reusable piece of parchment paper made out of silicone!

8 Tips on Becoming Plant-Strong by Ann Esselstyn (Rip’s Mom)

by Engine2 Diet·

We might be biased, but we think that Ann Esselstyn is the best food coach around! Here are some of her tips for becoming plant-strong.

“I am not a chef. I don’t peel anything and if it looks even a little bit complicated, I don’t make it. What we have found is that eating plant based WITHOUT OIL is delicious, easy and above all magical.

Follow 8 principles and you may well find yourself becoming PLANT PERFECT!

1. Eat oats (Old Fashioned) for breakfast, any way you can as oatmeal, as a cold cereal as we do with alternative milk and fruit or in waffles or pancakes or just put your cereal bowl with oats, banana and alternative milk and a table spoon of flax seed into your waffle iron and you have your oat breakfast in waffle form There are delicious ways to use steel cut oats too. Oats help lower cholesterol and also reduce artery inflammation. Find the breakfast with oats you love then eat it EVERY DAY!!!

2. Eat GREENS especially leafy greens as well as all the symphony of rainbow colored vegetables. Cooked or raw vegetables are king! Make leafy greens like Kale, collards and Swiss chard the nest on which you put your food, mix greens into your food or pile greens on the side of your plate. Make kale sandwiches , mix greens into soup, cook kale, etc. cut in small pieces into pasta 4 minutes before it is done, then drain and you have a meal in one or mix a bunch of greens into pasta sauce and spread on your whole wheat, no oil pizza crust (see www. samis Bakery.com on line for an awesome millet/flax pizza crust) and top with vegetables of your choice. Never cheese.

3. Eat Beans and Lentils instead of meat and dairy. All lentils are delicious. Try red lentils in soup. They cook quickly and make the soup a nice color. Put beans in salads. Hummus made without tahini or oil has become our mayonnaise as a sandwich spread or dip for vegetables and crackers and even part of our favorite salad dressing. Our main party dish is brown rice and black beans piled high with chopped tomatoes, thawed frozen corn, chopped green onions, water chestnuts, chopped cilantro, chopped arugula, chopped peppers, etc. and topped with salsa, low sodium tamari or if you don’t have heart disease with guacamole. AVOID all the highly processed fake soy meats and any of the vegan cheeses, which have lots of oil in them.

4. Eat WHOLE Grains. Be sure that the word WHOLE is in front of wheat or rye in the ingredient list. If not then it is just white flour fancied up to sound impressive. Check also to be sure that there is no added oil in the bread. Ezekiel makes many wonderful sprouted grain products available in the frozen food departments of health food stores. The Ezekiel Tortilla wraps are excellent and useful for everyday or parties. Fill them with your choice and then roll them up and bake them for 10 minutes in a 450 degree oven. Delicious! Use whole wheat pastry flour or barley flour in baking instead of white flour.

5. Eliminate oil! Empty all oil, even virgin olive oil out of your cupboards then you CAN’T use it. Instead any liquid works. Vegetable broth (no sodium), water, wine, beer, orange juice, carrot juice, vinegar all work in stir -frying. Instead of oil in baking, use applesauce, baby food prunes, bananas. Finding a salad dressing you love is a challenge at first but there are so many possibilities out there you will soon never miss the oil filled ones.

6. Drink WATER! You can’t go wrong with water. You can flavor it with a splash of orange or apple, etc. juice occasionally. Never drink juices! And absolutely never drink pop, with or without added sugar.

7. Avoid sugar and salt as much as possible. Save sugar for birthdays or special holiday treats. Instead put grapes in your freezer for an amazing sweet treat or freeze bananas or mangoes and blend them in a strong blender for delicious “ice creams. “ Look at the government label for the amount of salt in a product. No added salt is ideal or aim for the salt content being equal to the calorie content. Instead of salt add vinegar, lemon juice, lime juice or hot sauces. You will lose your taste for salt before you know it.

8. Read Labels, especially the ingredients. You will be surprised that often proclaimed zero fat products have oil listed in the ingredients. The government allows anything under .5 grams of fat to be called FAT FREE.

Check out Piers Morgan tonight at 9 pm est on CNN when Dr. Sanjay Gupta interviews Michelle Pfeiffer. After having what she thought was a healthy diet, she discovered she had high cholesterol.

Michelle Pfeiffer admits in a new interview that vanity played a part in her decision to adopt a vegan lifestyle, but she adds that more than anything it was because of a desire to live a healthier life.

The 54-year-old actress tells Dr. Sanjay Gupta on Monday’s edition of “Piers Morgan Tonight” that watching his documentary, “The Last Heart Attack,” gave her plenty of food for thought.

“I was finishing up working on, I think it was ‘Dark Shadows,'” she says. “And I was watching CNN, and ‘The Last Heart Attack’ came on.”

As she was watching the documentary, which explores preventative measures for heart disease, it was former President Bill Clinton’s story that really hit home.

Pfeiffer, who considers herself to also be a “foodie,” watched Clinton and said, “OK, Bill Clinton loves food, so there must be something to [veganism] that’s making him stick to it. And also, he’s smart, so he’s not going to do something unless he really thinks there’s some science behind it.”

“I just felt like…there was science behind it,” she says. “And, you know, it was sort of irrefutable. … I couldn’t not listen to it. My father died from cancer, and the older you get, there’s a lot of disease around you. And you see people struggling with chronic disease. You see people dying with terminal illnesses. And if in any way …. this is true, then you kind of have to listen to it.”

As someone who loves carbs, Pfeiffer says she’s enjoying the vegan diet, and has her husband of 19 years, David E. Kelley, trying to make the switch.

The older she gets, Pfeiffer says of her views on diet, the more her focus and intent is geared toward living a longer life.

“Vanity is right under there,” she admits, “but I have to say that it’s a close second with wanting to live long.”

Watch the full interview with Michelle Pfeiffer when she stops by “Piers Morgan Tonight” at 9 p.m. ET.

We have found that is possible to use this method with any kind of cookware. Lately we have been enjoying these ceramic pans by Ozeri.

Why skip the oil and spray-oil? Oil has about 4000 calories per pound, it is completely unnecessary to add to your otherwise healthy dishes. In addition to that, it does damage to the endothelial lining, as well as contributing to heart disease and other preventable disease.

For anyone wanting more information on the full scope of how oil impacts health we would recommend the book “Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease” as well as watching this entire lecture by Dr.Esselstyn:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYTf0z_zVs0

“What about fat-free spray oil?” Because of some labeling loop holes, “fat-free” spray oil is actually 100% fat! Check out the label, and see how they get away with it: (hint, look at the serving size and the servings per container)